M87 Battle Dress Uniform
|designer= |type=Battle Dress Uniform |model= |discharge= |function=Personal protection |power source= |control system= |affiliation= * * |era= }} The M87 Battle Dress Uniform was a battle dress uniform of the . Developed in by , the M87 was developed due to a spike in violent activity in the colonies. Although it performed superbly against rioters and the odd violent group, the armor's weakness was shown in , when UNSC forces were sent to put down the insurrection on . The armor, designed to protect against common civilian weapons that were usually used by rebels or violent malcontents, proved ineffective against the new wave of , who, due to sympathizers within organizations such as the , were now armed with military grade weapons such as the . With this new threat, the UNSC had the M87 retired in 2497, although it retained some components of the uniform, such as the materials used in the fatigues, for more than half a century. Although the M87 was retired from frontline UNSC service, it later became standard issue for the . Due to sympathizers with the within the CM, as well as unscrupulous quartermasters selling the armor on the black market, rebels were able to acquire parts of the M87. Although the armor was grossly obsolete even by the late years of the Insurrection, rebels continued to use it and its derivatives up until the late 2550's. History Development The M87 Battle Dress Uniform was designed in 2485 by in a bid to build the UNSC's next standard field uniform for its troops, after a string of anti insurgency campaigns in the showed the existing armor, the M56, was obsolete. Two years later, after rigorous testing by the , the BDU was put into service as a standard uniform for all the services. Early Uses and Retirement Colonial Militia and Use Overview Components Fatigues Armor Derivatives M87 Winterized Battle Dress Uniform The M87 Winterized Battle Dress Uniform was one of the most widely used derivatives of the standard M87 BDU. Although it was identical to the regular BDU in the protection it afforded the wearer, its main difference was in the fatigues. Like the regular M87, the fatigues were flame retardant, but they were also much thicker, and more efficient at trapping body heat, and keeping the wearer alive in below zero temperatures. A balaclava was also designed concurrently with the rest of the uniform, and a pair of standard UNSC issue winter gloves was usually worn as well to stay warm. The combat boots in the WBDU also differed. Due to the snowy and wet conditions troops wearing the WBDU were anticipated operating in, the boots were made to be absolutely drenched with water or snow, and still keep the wearer's feet dry. This special attention to the boots was a result of lessons learned during the , when a large number of troops operating in wet or snowy conditions became afflicted with trench foot due to inadequate waterproofing of their boots.